


6. Hypothermia/frostbite

by LenaLawlipop



Series: POV: Roach's braincell (Winter prompts) [6]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Gen, I'm Sorry, Roach Has the Brain Cell (The Witcher), Roach Ships It (The Witcher), Tumblr Prompt, extremely short Roach whump, she's fine I promise, winter prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28001583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenaLawlipop/pseuds/LenaLawlipop
Summary: Winter prompts fromthis post"GERALT!!!"If it hadn’t been for the fact that she was about to lose her footing, Roach would have winced at the sheer volume of Jaskier's screams. Geralt wasn't around, silly human, she would have said. Or at least, she would have huffed. Right now, though, all of those things were looking like a distant idea.How had things gone so poorly? Geralt had whistled for her, and she'd started to run to him, but Jaskier had tried to stop her, and now...Another piece of ice broke under her hooves, and after the shock of cold lake water hit her, Roach finally started panicking.
Series: POV: Roach's braincell (Winter prompts) [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040006
Comments: 4
Kudos: 80





	6. Hypothermia/frostbite

**Author's Note:**

> So... I learned that horses rarely ever get frostbite, and if they do, it's in their ears? And also that you don't rub frostbitten parts of bodies. Which... I guess I should have known that one, considering how cold my hands always get and how much it hurts to rub them.

"GERALT!!!"

If it hadn’t been for the fact that she was about to lose her footing, Roach would have winced at the sheer volume of Jaskier's screams. Geralt wasn't around, silly human, she would have said. Or at least, she would have huffed. Right now, though, all of those things were looking like a distant idea.

How had things gone so poorly? Geralt had whistled for her, and she'd started to run to him, but Jaskier had tried to stop her, and now...

Another piece of ice broke under her hooves, and after the shock of cold lake water hit her, Roach finally started panicking.

Was Jaskier in the water too? She couldn't tell, her sense of smell dampened by the water trying to get into her lungs. She neighed, hoping a miracle would happen to help her, but the water was too cold, and the lake was too deep... Geralt had never led her into water!

"I can't get close, she's kicking too much! _Do_ something! Axii her, gods, I don't know!" Jaskier cried, voice hoarse as if he'd also swallowed lake water.

And then, everything went dark.

The next thing Roach noticed was the wind. She was... walking. On ground. She tried to look up, but someone pulled on her reins, and after a second, things went blurry again.

The ground was there, though. Walking. Solid ground.

She was safe...

#

" _Don't_ rub her ears, Jaskier," a voice grumbled, the voice of someone who has said the same thing already too many times.

Roach's ears twitched, and she whinnied at the sudden flash of pain it brought. Jaskier gasped.

"She's awake!"

"Roach?"

_Geralt?_

She tried to get to her feet quickly. Geralt was calling her! It took her a few tries, and she nearly stomped on Jaskier, but she got up, shaking her head to clear it and trying to find Geralt. His hands touched her face, and she relaxed, nuzzling against his chest. He held her tightly, his normally too slow pulse now quick enough to match Jaskier's.

"Oh, girl... I'm so sorry," he told her. She didn't really get why, but she was simply happy to be with him now. Was he hurt? He'd called her after a hunt!

She tried to scent him for injuries, but she found only a few scratches on his side, and Jaskier seemed to have dressed them already in bandages. Speaking of the bard...

He was still on the ground where she had been laying, a big clump of blankets and fabric, near a fire. They were back at their camp!

Slowly, Roach started to take inventory of everything around her. She was covered with a light, dry cloth, enough to protect her from the worst of the wind, but still allowing her fur to dry. She was cold, but her feet were fine. Her fur was disheveled, and smelled foul like lake water, but it was clear that Jaskier and Geralt had tried to dry her with something. They better brush her later, though!

Everything seemed in order, then... but why were her ears hurting?

She tried to move them again, and Jaskier finally stood up again. He had something in his hands, a piece of... cloth? He pressed it to her ears again, in turns. Roach let him... it was very warm, and upon closer inspection, he seemed to have submerged it in the warm water they had in a pot near the fire.

"Don't rub, it'll hurt more," Geralt insisted, holding her other ear between his hands, pointedly not rubbing.

"Yes, yes..."

Roach... felt safe. She looked at them both in turns, and they smiled at her. Jaskier's hair was also damp, the ends nearly freezing. Geralt wasn't completely soaked, but it was clear he'd had a fight, and would need a bath to get the grime off his clothes. What a trio they were...

She sneezed, startling them, but effectively putting an end to the coddling. They needed to start moving, or they would have to spend the night in the middle of a nearly frozen forest! Geralt was hurt, and both Jaskier and Roach were cold!

That just wouldn't do. Her ears would survive, and if she lost the tips, well... It would be fine, as long as she didn't lose her team.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my story :D
> 
> If you did, please consider leaving kudos or a comment, they're greatly appreciated!
> 
> If you’d like to create related content based on my fic, please visit my profile for my blanket permission statement!
> 
> If you want to yell with me and share more headcanons for these dorks, you can find me at my tumblr, [lenalawlipop](https://lenalawlipop.tumblr.com/), the comments section down below, or any of the links in my profile. Don't be shy!
> 
> Love,
> 
> ~Lena


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